Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I thank all Members for their contributions. In Senator Norris's words, the vast majority of the contributions were well intended and highly appreciated.

However, I take grave offence to the contribution from Senator Finucane, who made some outrageous allegations regarding the illegal charges and the manner in which they are being repaid. The repayment scheme was launched by the Health Service Executive on 14 August last. The Government had provided in the Estimates sufficient moneys for this year and will do so again for next year. Apart from issuing the instruction that it wished and would insist that people who are still living should be a priority, the Government has had no hand, act or part in the disbursement of the moneys. The Government will be quite happy to see the moneys paid over as quickly as possible. I mentioned that approximately 15,000 people who are still alive are entitled to be repaid and this money will be paid back. For the Senator to make such allegations was an abuse of his position in the House and was most regrettable. However, I thank the other Members for their contributions. While I might disagree with some aspects of them, in the main they were very helpful.

As Members have noted, the Bill is designed to ensure the existing subvention scheme for private nursing home care is firmly grounded in primary legislation. Once enacted, this Bill will replace the 1993 regulations. Significant changes are projected regarding older people, particularly in the medium to long term. It is estimated that this year, there are approximately 463,000 people aged 65 years or more in Ireland. The latest population projections suggest the figure will increase to more than 1.1 million by 2036 and consequently, the old age dependency ratio will rise from 18% to 39%. The number of people aged 85 or more is projected to increase from 46,700 to 155,000 in the same period. This trend is expected to continue until 2056, when the old age dependency ratio is projected to reach 60%.

The funding allocated in this year's budget will be used to further complement the provision of community-based services that began last year. The full annual cost of the package comes to €170 million and will go towards providing an additional 2,000 home care packages, 780,000 additional home help hours and 1,100 day care places.

There will always be those who will require residential care and the budget announcement has also made provision in this regard. It provides for approximately 2,300 long-stay places, both public and private, between 2006 and 2008. A total of 1,050 such places were provided during 2006 and an additional 1,250 places will be provided during 2007 and 2008.

The issue of standardising enhanced subventions nationwide was raised by a number of Members. The HSE continues to have discretion in this regard. When a person cannot meet the costs of care without undue hardship, the HSE can pay enhanced subvention——